Business Research Method Introduction

Chapter-1
Research, reflective diaries and the

purpose of this book
Introduction
• This book is designed to help you to undertake your
research project, whether you are an undergraduate or
postgraduate student of business and management or a
practising manager
• It provides a clear guide on how to undertake research
as well as highlighting the realities of undertaking
research
• Will provide you with the necessary knowledge and
skills to undertake a piece of research from first
thoughts about a potential research topic to writing your
project report and delivering an oral presentation
Introduction (Cont;)
• After reading the book you will understand what it
means to review the literature critically; have been
introduced to research philosophies and approaches to
reasoning;
• Explored a range of strategies, techniques and procedures
with which you could collect and analyse data; and
considered how to report and present your research
• You will be aware of the choices you will have to make
and how these will impact upon what you can find out
• You will be able to make a series of informed choices
including your research philosophy, approaches to
reasoning, strategies, techniques and procedures that are
most suitable to your own research project and be able to
The nature of research
• When browsing social media, listening to the radio,
watching television, listening to the radio or reading a
daily newspaper it is difficult to avoid the term ‘research’
• The results of ‘research’ are all around us
• Politicians often justify their policy decisions on the
basis of ‘research’.
• Documentary programmes tell us about ‘research
findings’ and advertisers may highlight the ‘results of
research’ to encourage you to buy a particular product or
brand
• However, we believe that what these examples really
emphasise is the wide range of meanings given to the
term ‘research’ in everyday speech
The nature of research
• Walliman (2020) argues that many of these everyday
uses of the term ‘research’ are not research in the true
meaning of the word
• Just collecting facts or information with no clear
purpose;
• Reassembling and reordering facts or information
without interpretation;
• As an activity with no or little relevance to everyday
life;
• As a term to get your product or idea noticed and
respected
The nature of research (Cont;)
• Based upon this brief discussion we can already see
that research has several characteristics:
• The purpose, to find out things, is stated clearly
• The data are collected systematically
• The data are interpreted systematically
• The data are interpreted systematically. We can
therefore define research as a process that is undertaken
in a systematic way with a clear purpose, to find things
out
• Two phrases are important in this definition:
‘systematic way’ and ‘to find out things’
Business and management research
• Using our earlier definition of research we can define
business and management research as undertaking
systematic research to find out things about business and
management
• Ongoing debate within the literature has explored the trans
disciplinary nature of business and management research,
its relevance and utility to society, the importance of
rigorous methods and, more recently, the need for
responsible research in business and management
Responsible Research in Business
and Management
Responsible Research in
Business and Management
Basic and applied research
The research process
The research process
Keeping a reflective diary or
research notebook
• During your research project you will find it helpful
to keep a separate reflective diary or reflective journal
• Others keep a learning journal, which uses a more
free-flowing structure to describe, analyse and
evaluate what has happened
• Some researchers incorporate their reflective diary or
journal into a research notebook in which they
chronologically record other aspects of their research
project
• The process of observing your own research practice
and examining the way you do things is termed
reflection
THANK YOU

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Chapter-1

Research, reflective diaries and the

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